TrendForce: Global Smartphone Production May Suffer Record Decline in Q2 2020

Global smartphone production could see a record fall of up to 16.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest research by TrendForce.

iPhone Lineup 2020 SE

Global production for 2Q20 is now estimated to register another YoY drop of 16.5% to 287 million units, the largest decline on record for a given quarter. TrendForce forecasts total yearly production volume of 1.24 billion units, an 11.3% decrease YoY.

Worldwide smartphone production for the first quarter reportedly fell by 10 percent year on year to around 280 million units, the lowest in five years, due to disruptions across the supply chain caused by the global health crisis.

Prior to the crisis, TrendForce had expected Apple to once again reach yearly production of 200 million units, owing to the release of the new iPhone SE, four new models in the fall, and the phasing out of the popular ‌iPhone‌ 6s series by the seasonal smartphone replacement cycle.

767308001588153893
However, ‌iPhone‌ production fell by 8.7 percent year on year in the first quarter, reaching 37.9 million units, due to labor and material shortages following the post-Lunar New Year work resumption, which saw Apple ranked in third place in the global market.

Apple's recent launch of the low-priced ‌iPhone‌ SE is expected to see it stay relatively close to 1Q 2020 figures, reaching 36 million units. The higher price of Apple's next-generation flagship iPhones is said to be an ongoing concern, however, given that Apple's main smartphone sales are in Europe and the U.S., both of which are still grappling with the health crisis.

Apple is expected to offer four flagship iPhones in three different sizes later this year: A 5.4-inch ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌, a 6.7-inch ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌, and two 6.1-inch iPhones. One 6.1-inch model and the 6.7-inch model will be higher-end iPhones, while the other 6.1-inch ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ and the 5.4-inch ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ will be lower-end models and successors to the ‌‌iPhone‌ 11‌. Apple is expected to launch the new models in the fall.

Popular Stories

Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
fortnite apple featured

Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by
As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
top stories 2025 05 10

Top Stories: iOS 18.5 Release Imminent, iPhone Rumors for 2025 and Beyond, and More

Saturday May 10, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates. This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...

Top Rated Comments

gnasher729 Avatar
66 months ago

But doesn't this prediction come around every year? Granted we're in the middle of a pandemic and there's record unemployment right now, but people will be staying home and will want to stay connected. Depending on the features of the upcoming iPhones, and how they're marketed, I could see many people getting them (especially with the push to 5G).
Usually when people get unemployed they spend nothing that doesn't have to be spent. So the ones that buy an iPhone are the ones whose phone got stolen or damaged or stopped working. If I don't know when the next pay cheque comes, an old iPhone 6 works just fine.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wanted797 Avatar
66 months ago
Well... I’ll be damned.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarpalMac Avatar
66 months ago
May? I'll go wild and predict "Will".
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
filmbuff Avatar
66 months ago
2020 the year of record breaking! Record unemployment! Record decline!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gutwrench Avatar
66 months ago
Color me shocked. Shocked, I say.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
66 months ago

Usually when people get unemployed they spend nothing that doesn't have to be spent. So the ones that buy an iPhone are the ones whose phone got stolen or damaged or stopped working. If I don't know when the next pay cheque comes, an old iPhone 6 works just fine.
Couldn't agree more.

An iPhone can easily last 4-5 years (and is fully supported as long by Apple), so unless someone's phone is on its last legs, folks that are unemployed and are struggling to put food on the table for themselves and their family aren't considering buying the latest smartphone tech.

The recession is barely upon us yet. We've only seen the tip of the iceberg of the amount of folks that will be furloughed, unemployed, or working with a reduced salary. As that situation continues to worsen, the % of the population impacted negatively economically from COVID-19 will dwarf any % reduction of smartphone production.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)